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‘We're Farming Sun': Pioneering Pennsylvania Farmer Ditched Corn Rows for Solar Panels
A Lancaster County farmer leased 30 acres of his land to a renewable energy company in 2012. For a few years, Community Energy’s solar farm was the largest in Pennsylvania. Farmland in Pennsylvania could help the state reverse its slide to the rear of the clean energy movement.
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Food Truck Trend Moves Beyond Humans, Caters to Canines in Seattle
Stand on any block around lunchtime near Amazon.com’s downtown Seattle headquarters and there are two common sights: people walking their dogs and people buying lunch at food trucks. The scene offers a window into Seattle’s infatuations with dogs (and cats), which outnumber children here, and the maturing roaming food truck market. Now, one truck is combining both by catering to...
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Pennsylvania Is Losing the Race for Solar Power. Farmers Can Save the State's Energy Reputation
Pennsylvania now lags well behind many other states when it comes to renewable energy investment and output. A farmer and an entrepreneur say farmland can reshape the state’s energy economy.
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'We're Fighting for Our Lives': US Apple Farmers Endure Major Crop and Profit Losses as Climate Changes
Climate change is posing an existential threat to the precarious lives of farmers across the country. More intense and frequent weather disasters are wiping out entire harvests, and warmer winters are exposing crops to severe frost damage. For apples, a warm spell in the winter will force trees to flower prematurely and expose the buds to unpredictable winter frosts, hail...
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Travel Chaos, Jobs Lost as UK Firm Thomas Cook Collapses
Families stranded, honeymoons and vacations canceled, thousands of workers laid off: The sudden collapse of British tour company Thomas Cook and its network of airlines and hotels sowed chaos for hundreds of thousands of travelers and businesses around the world Monday. Brought down by a variety of factors, including crushing debts and online competition, the 178-year-old travel agency that helped...
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The Next Food Holiday Is So Cheesy (and Burgery, Too)
Seriously, it’s National Cheeseburger Day, and there are deals sizzling on the proverbial grill.
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Got a Haul of Apples for Fall? Here's What to Do With Them
It’s that time of year again, when fresh apples are piled high at farmer’s markets. If you are lucky enough to live near an orchard, you can take the day and pick your own bushel of apples. But whether you are picking them at the market or off a tree, there are many great things to do with apples that...
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Protect or Develop? Amazon Fires Signal Growing Pressure
“Without smoke, there’s no progress,” said the Amazon rancher in a torn straw hat and cowboy boots caked in red dirt. The rancher, 75-year-old Antonio Lopes da Silva, was talking about the fires that have swept parts of one of the world’s most precious regions in recent weeks. People around the world reacted with shock at what they consider a...
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‘Trump Is Ruining Our Markets': Struggling Farmers Lose a Huge Customer to the Trade War — China
U.S. farmers lost one of their biggest customers this week after China officially cancelled all purchases of U.S. agricultural products, a retaliatory move following President Donald Trump’s pledge to slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports. China’s exit piles on to a devastating year for farmers, who have struggled through record flooding and an extreme heat wave that...
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White Sox, Yankees to Play 1st Major League Baseball Game at ‘Field of Dreams' in Iowa
If you build it, they will come. Well, the White Sox will at least.
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Herd of 75 Bison Escapes, Roams Rural Upstate New York
An escaped herd of bison is roaming free in rural upstate New York, grazing in hay fields as the owner works with state police and the Department of Environmental Conservation on a roundup plan. State police say Monday that about 75 bison escaped last week from a farm in Sharon Springs, 45 miles west of Albany. Police are asking anyone...
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Plant Lovers Find Each Other at Swaps, Online or in Person
Plant lovers have long gotten together to trade seeds and growing advice, and the latest generation is following suit with modern plant swaps. The swaps (sometimes called plant exchanges) for amateur horticulturalists are popping up in homes, parking lots, trendy gardening stores and online. They’re about exchanging advice and meeting like-minded people, says 35-year-old Ana Carlson, who has attended several...
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No More Mr. Europe: Macron Forced to Curb EU Ambitions
French President Emmanuel Macron sees himself as Europe’s savior, and this week’s European Parliament elections as a make-or-break moment for the beleaguered European Union. But Macron is no longer the fresh-faced force who marched into a surprising presidential victory to the rhythm of the EU anthem two years ago. His pro-Europe vision has collided with national interests across the continent....
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Nebraska Farmer Amputates His Own Leg After It Gets Caught in Machinery: ‘I Guess I'm Stubborn'
Kurt Kaser was working on his Nebraska farm when he found himself in a terrifying situation. As Kaser was unloading corn, his leg got stuck in a piece of farm equipment. Alone and realizing he had to quickly make a decision, Kaser used a pocketknife to amputate his own leg to free himself, NBC News reports. “I thought for sure...
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Beyond Paper Straws: More Hacks for Reducing Plastic at Home
To help the environment by cutting down on non-compostable plastics, many people have begun saying no to plastic straws and are bringing reusable bags to the grocery store instead of accepting new plastic ones. But many more small steps like those can be taken. “There are so many simple changes you can make at home,” says Melissa Ozawa, features and...
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Activists Offer Final Acts of Kindness at Tearful Pig Vigil
Warning: Video contains scenes that some might find disturbing. For the last two years, activists have gathered for a peaceful vigil outside a Vernon pork processing plant. As truckloads of pigs arrived, the animals are offered water and some final words of comfort. Credit: Chase Cain
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In a Final Act of Kindness, Activists Offer Water and Comfort at Pig Vigils
About two times a week for the last two years, people have gathered outside Farmer John in Vernon with water, comforting words and sometimes a calming and gentle touch for the truckloads of pigs bound for slaughter at the processing plant south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Will the US Run Out of Avocados If the Border Closes?
As President Donald Trump threatens to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border, farming and food distribution industries are bracing for a significant impact.
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Bryce Harper Asked for It, So We Made Him a List of Philly Hot Spots
Soon-to-be resident of Philadelphia Bryce Harper wanted reccomendations for the City of Brotherly Love. So we gave him plenty of them.
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2015 ‘Bachelor' Star Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charge
A farmer who appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelor” pleaded guilty Tuesday in a fatal crash last year near his home in northern Iowa. In an agreement with prosecutors, Chris Soules pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident. The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to two years in prison. Soules’ attorney...